FragileU 12-06.indd - National Speleological Society

Fragile Underground
However, caves are threatened by human activities above and below
ground. Carelessness and ignorance, as well as intentional vandalism, can quickly--and permanently--damage a cave: its formations, its
environment, and the plants and animals that live there.
Caves play a vital role in the quality of our drinking water. In karst and
pseudo-karst areas, surface water flows into caves quickly, receiving little
filtration. This water, and the impurities it carries—human and animal waste,
pesticides, fertilizers, petroleum products, and other pollutants—often travel
great distances underground, contaminating wells, springs, and aquifers.
Only by wisely and carefully managing the relationship between karst and
water, and keeping pollutants from entering caves, can we protect the quality
of our drinking water.
photo by Bob Biddix
photo by Dave Bunnell
Protecting Our Water
photo by Dave Bunnell
photo by Stephen Capps
photo by Alan Cressler
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Caves offer valuable clues to significant geologic events as well
as to our prehistoric and historic past. Deep underground, caves have
preserved human fossils, and those of extinct plants and
animals. Since prehistoric times, caves also have served as homes,
burial grounds, and sites for religious practices. Unlike most other
environments, caves, with their nearly constant temperatures, preserve our
most sensitive archaeological and cultural sites.
Karst landscapes include caves, sinkholes, underground streams,
and other features formed when bedrock is dissolved by water. Lava
tube caves are pseudo-karstic features, created by volcanic activity.
One-fifth of the nation’s land area is karst, and nearly
every state has caves, as do most countries in the world.
“Karst areas are among the world’s most diverse, fascinating, resource-rich,
yet problematic terrains. They contain the large ssprings and most productive groundwater supplies on Earth. Karst is the landscape most vulnerable
to environmental impacts, however careful use of karst areas can produce
substantial economic and scientific benefits. Sound management of karst
requires the conscientious participation of citizens and land-use decision
makers, oftenworking closely with speleologists who explore, survey, and
study caves.”*
Deep in the earth, drop by drop, crystal by crystal, a solution of water and minerals seeps through cracks in the rock,
depositing formations, or speleothems, on the floors,
ceilings, and walls of caves. However, a careless touch or
malicious gesture can destro what took centuries to form.
Once damaged or destroyed, cave formations can never
be replaced. To preserve this fragile resource, Congress
passed the Federal Cave Resources Protection Act in 1988 to
“secure, protect, and preserve significant caves on Federal
lands for perpetual use, enjoyment, and benefit of all
people.” Many states have laws protecting caves and
their contents.
Keepers of our Past
Karst Matters
photo by Scott Dankof
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photo by Jens Roemer
photo by Megan Porter
photo by Ed McCarthy
Caves are the world's most remote and fragile wilderness. They
offer irreplaceable habitats for rare plants and animals, some
of which spend their entire lives in complete darkness. On its way
to our drinking supply, water often travels through caves into wells,
springs, and aquifers, the source of most of our drinking water. A cave’s
intricate passageways and dramatic formations offer exquisite scenery and
fascinating opportunities for research and mapping. Many caves also
preserve fragile prehistoric and historic records for millennia.
Nature’s Masterpieces
Fragile Habitats
Cave-dwelling animals—troglobites--are unique species of organisms including insects, crustaceans, and fish, that spend their entire
lives underground. They are specially adapted to living in total
darkness, and offer scientists insight into biological processes. Biologists
recently have discovered cave-dwelling extremophiles whose
food web is based on chemosynthetic, or “mineral-eating”
bacteria. These organisms provide clues about the earliest forms
of life on Earth, and are being studied by scientists at NASA to learn about
the potential for life on Mars.
Because troglobites cannot live outside a cave, their survival is
endangered if the cave environment is damaged or altered. Water
pollution, visitor traffic, trash, flooding, and a change in air patterns or
temperature can disturb a cave’s fragile food web and ecosystem.
Once destroyed, these isolated environments have little chance to
regenerate, and unique troglobites would be gone forever.
Bats Need Friends
photo by Dave Bunnell
c Merlin D. Tuttle, Bat Conservation International
A Guide to Responsible Caving,
(available on the NSS website.)
America's Neighborhood Bats, by Merlin Tuttle
Young Readers
The Hidden World of Caves, by Ronal Kerbo
Journeys into the Earth, by Barton, Holler-Allenbach, Delano
For Educators
Project Underground Workbook, edited by Carol Zokaites
On the Internet
The National Speleological Society (NSS)
www.caves.org
The National Caves Association
www.cavern.com
Bat Conservation International (BCI)
www.batcon.org
What Lies Ahead
Many caves and their contents have been destroyed or badly damaged
as a result of human activities. Rare species of cave-dwelling creatures
are threatened or already endangered. Water quality in aquifers, wells,
and springs has diminished. Fortunately, there is time to protect our
remaining caves and karst resources.
The National Speleological Society (NSS) is the largest
organization in the world dedicated to protecting, conserving, exploring, and studying caves. The Save the Caves
Fund, supported solely through donations, provides essential
funding for cave conservation and restoration, karst resource
management, and educational programs. For more
information visit the NSS Web site or contact the
NSS office.
How you can help protect and preserve the fragile underground
National Speleological Society
2813 Cave Avenue
Huntsville, Alabama 35810-4431
Telephone 256-852-1300 • Fax 256-851-9241
E-mail [email protected]
www.caves.org
Produced by Michael Dale and Cheryl Jones
NSS Conservation Committee
* George Veni, Harvey DuChene, Nicholas Crawford,
et. al., Living with Karst, (AGI: 2000) 5. Used with permission.
photo by John Ganter
photo by Ed McCarthy & Carl Samples
Cave Safely
photo by Alan Cressler
The best way to experience caving is by visiting
one of the many show caves developed privately or by the National Park
Service. Undeveloped, or “wild,” caves should be entered only by experienced cavers with the proper training and equipment.
12/06
photo by Ken Davis
Underground
Cave Conservation and Restoration,
edited by Val Hildreth Werker and Jim C. Werker
Animals that make their homes in caves, but return to the
surface to feed—including bats, bears, packrats, snakes,
raccoons, swallows, moths, foxes, and people—are trogloxenes. Among
these, bats play an important role in the balance of nature. Most
North American bats eat insects, and a single small bat can eat 1,200
mosquito-sized insects an hour. Other bats feed on fruit and nectar,
and in the wild, they pollinate flowers and disperse seeds for important
agricultural plants. In addition, bat droppings are a valuable source of
fertilizer, and an important foundation in the food web of some cave
habitats. Unfortunately, today more than half of the American bat
species are in severe decline or are already endangered, largely because
pesticides and land development have severely reduced their food
supply. Moreover, cave habitats are being destroyed, their entrances
are being closed, orhuman visitors are disrupting bat nurseries and
hibernating colonies.
Worst of all, people who fear or
misunderstand the value of bats are deliberately killing them.
• Keep sinkholes free of garbage, sewage, oil, and other contaminants.
• Keep streams in karst areas clean by controlling runoff from farming,
mining, and timbering operations.
• Do not damage formations, and do not deface or write on the cave walls.
Leave artifacts as you find them.
• Oppose the sale of cave formations.
• Report vandalism and unauthorized entry to proper authorities. The NSS
offers a reward for information leading to the successful prosecution of
cave vandals.
• Respect cave dwelling animals, and leave their unique habitats undamaged.
• Play an important role in conservation and education by contributing to
the NSS Save the Caves Fund or a cave conservancy in your state.
Fragile
Suggested Reading
Available from the NSS Bookstore